Background:
The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) is a large-scale, multi-purpose longitudinal dataset providing information about babies born at the beginning of the 21st century, their progress through life, and the families who are bringing them up, for the four countries of the United Kingdom. The original objectives of the first MCS survey, as laid down in the proposal to the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in March 2000, were:

• to chart the initial conditions of social, economic and health advantages and disadvantages facing children born at the start of the 21st century, capturing information that the research community of the future will require
• to provide a basis for comparing patterns of development with the preceding cohorts (the National Child Development Study, held at the UK Data Archive under GN 33004, and the 1970 Birth Cohort Study, held under GN 33229)
• to collect information on previously neglected topics, such as fathers' involvement in children's care and development
• to focus on parents as the most immediate elements of the children's 'background', charting their experience as mothers and fathers of newborn babies in the year 2000, recording how they (and any other children in the family) adapted to the newcomer, and what their aspirations for her/his future may be
• to emphasise intergenerational links including those back to the parents' own childhood
• to investigate the wider social ecology of the family, including social networks, civic engagement and community facilities and services, splicing in geo-coded data when available

Additional objectives subsequently included for MCS were:

• to provide control cases for the national evaluation of Sure Start (a government programme intended to alleviate child poverty and social exclusion)
• to provide samples of adequate size to analyse and compare the smaller countries of the United Kingdom, and include disadvantaged areas of England

Further information about the MCS can be found on the Centre for Longitudinal Studies web pages.

The content of MCS studies, including questions, topics and variables can be explored via the CLOSER Discovery website.

The first sweep (MCS1) interviewed both mothers and (where resident) fathers (or father-figures) of infants included in the sample when the babies were nine months old, and the second sweep (MCS2) was carried out with the same respondents when the children were three years of age. The third sweep (MCS3) was conducted in 2006, when the children were aged five years old, the fourth sweep (MCS4) in 2008, when they were seven years old, the fifth sweep (MCS5) in 2012-2013, when they were eleven years old, the sixth sweep (MCS6) in 2015, when they were fourteen years old, and the seventh sweep (MCS7) in 2018, when they were seventeen years old.

End User Licence versions of MCS studies:
The End User Licence (EUL) versions of MCS1, MCS2, MCS3, MCS4, MCS5, MCS6 and MCS7 are held under UK Data Archive SNs 4683, 5350, 5795, 6411, 7464, 8156 and 8682 respectively. The longitudinal family file is held under SN 8172.

Sub-sample studies:
Some studies based on sub-samples of MCS have also been conducted, including a study of MCS respondent mothers who had received assisted fertility treatment, conducted in 2003 (see EUL SN 5559). Also, birth registration and maternity hospital episodes for the MCS respondents are held as a separate dataset (see EUL SN 5614).

Release of Sweeps 1 to 4 to Long Format (Summer 2020)
To support longitudinal research and make it easier to compare data from different time points, all data from across all sweeps is now in a consistent format. The update affects the data from sweeps 1 to 4 (from 9 months to 7 years), which are updated from the old/wide to a new/long format to match the format of data of sweeps 5 and 6 (age 11 and 14 sweeps). The old/wide formatted datasets contained one row per family with multiple variables for different respondents. The new/long formatted datasets contain one row per respondent (per parent or per cohort member) for each MCS family. Additional updates have been made to all sweeps to harmonise variable labels and enhance anonymisation.

How to access genetic and/or bio-medical sample data from a range of longitudinal surveys:
For information on how to access biomedical data from MCS that are not held at the UKDS, see the CLS Genetic data and biological samples webpage.

Secure Access datasets:
Secure Access versions of the MCS have more restrictive access conditions than versions available under the standard End User Licence or Special Licence (see 'Access data' tab above).

Secure Access versions of the MCS include:

• detailed sensitive variables not available under EUL. These have been grouped thematically and are held under SN 8753 (socio-economic, accommodation and occupational data), SN 8754 (self-reported health, behaviour and fertility), SN 8755 (demographics, language and religion) and SN 8756 (exact participation dates). These files replace previously available studies held under SNs 8456 and 8622-8627
  
• detailed geographical identifier files which are grouped by sweep held under SN 7758 (MCS1), SN 7759 (MCS2), SN 7760 (MCS3), SN 7761 (MCS4), SN 7762 (MCS5 2001 Census Boundaries), SN 7763 (MCS5 2011 Census Boundaries), SN 8231 (MCS6 2001 Census Boundaries), SN 8232 (MCS6 2011 Census Boundaries), SN 8757 (MCS7), SN 8758 (MCS7 2001 Census Boundaries) and SN 8759 (MCS7 2011 Census Boundaries). These files replace previously available files grouped by geography SN 7049 (Ward level), SN 7050 (Lower Super Output Area level), and SN 7051 (Output Area level)
• linked education administrative datasets for Key Stages 1, 2, 4 and 5 held under SN 8481 (England). This replaces previously available datasets for Key Stage 1 (SN 6862) and Key Stage 2 (SN 7712)
  
• linked education administrative datasets for Key Stage 1 held under SN 7414 (Scotland)
• linked education administrative dataset for Key Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 under SN 9085 (Wales)
  
• linked NHS Patient Episode Database for Wales (PEDW) for MCS1 – MCS5 held under SN 8302
• linked Scottish Medical Records data held under SNs 8709, 8710, 8711, 8712, 8713 and 8714;
• Banded Distances to English Grammar Schools for MCS5 held under SN 8394
• linked Health Administrative Datasets (Hospital Episode Statistics) for England for years 2000-2019 held under SN 9030
• linked Hospital of Birth data held under SN 5724.

The linked education administrative datasets held under SNs 8481,7414 and 9085 may be ordered alongside the MCS detailed geographical identifier files only if sufficient justification is provided in the application.

Researchers applying for access to the Secure Access MCS datasets should indicate on their ESRC Accredited Researcher application form the EUL dataset(s) that they also wish to access (selected from the MCS Series Access web page).

International Data Access Network (IDAN)
These data are now available to researchers based outside the UK. Selected UKDS SecureLab/controlled datasets from the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) and the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) have been made available under the International Data Access Network (IDAN) scheme, via a Safe Room access point at one of the UKDS IDAN partners. Prospective users should read the UKDS SecureLab application guide for non-ONS data for researchers outside of the UK via Safe Room Remote Desktop Access. Further details about the IDAN scheme can be found on the UKDS International Data Access Network webpage and on the IDAN website.

Anti-Politics: Characterising and Accounting for Political Disaffection, 2011-2012 includes transcripts from 14 focus groups held across the country which were conducted to accompany the Audit of Political Engagement 9, 2011 (available from the UK Data Archive under SN 7098). A key objective of the research was to build on existing datasets to expand the knowledge of an important topic: why so many citizens are disillusioned with politics. Whilst much is known about the public’s disaffection with politics, understanding its root causes is complex. This study examined the expectations and attitudes citizens have towards politics, political processes and their outcomes and how this affects their levels of political interest, participation and satisfaction. Further information is available on the Hansard Society 'Anti-Politics (http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/research/public-attitudes/anti-politics) project webpage and the ESRC Award (http://www.researchcatalogue.esrc.ac.uk/grants/RES-000-22-4441/read) Anti-Politics: Characterising and Accounting for Political Disaffection webpage.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The objectives of the project were :
to prepare the case for the ESRC/JISC purchase of 2001 Census datasets and to prepare the case for a Census Programme and suggest directions it might take;
to prepare options for ESRC/JISC on the dissemination of the datasets;
to prepare proposals to the Census Offices on Census questions, methods and products;
to prepare proposals to the Census Offices on collaborative ventures;
to advise on a strategy for negotiations with the Census Offices.

A similar survey, for the 1991 Census, was conducted in 1987 by Marsh, C. et al : the data from this study are held at the Data Archive under SN:2460.
Main Topics:

The dataset contains the responses of 140 academic users of census data on their views about the 2001 Census of population. Questions were asked under the following four themes :
1. Topics and questions proposed for the 2001 Census.

1. Proposed changes in concepts for the 2001 Census.
   
2. Proposed changes in outputs for the 2001 Census : Area Statistics, Samples of Anonymised Records (SARS), Migration Statistics, Workplace Statistics, the ONS Longitudinal Study - inclusion of the 2001 Census, boundary data, look up tables, flexible outputs from the 2001 Census.
   
3. ESRC/JISC Census Programme services : registration procedures, help with census data, documentation and training, methods of access, software for extraction and analysis of census data, shape of the ESRC/JISC Census Programme after 2001.
   
   Measurement Scales
   The main scale used was a five-part categorisation of usefulness/importance for the respondent's research :
   essential; highly desirable; of interest; very low priority; not of interest.

This archive contains the ESRC funded data collection (UK data) only. The data collection contains a state file consisting of 902 variables, 677 observations. The codebook available in the data collection provides detailed descriptions of variables and data codes (missing etc). For more information please contact stephani.hatch@kcl.ac.uk Research from the United Kingdom and the United States shows wide health inequalities by race/ethnicity and socio-economic status. So far we do not clearly understand the roles that discrimination and social context play in creating these inequalities. Research teams at King's College London (UK) and Columbia University (USA) will carry out studies to investigate: the roles that the historical social context and policy play in shaping observed patterns of health inequalities; differences in anticipated and perceived experiences of discrimination; how discrimination contributes to inequalities in everyday social functioning, mental health, physical health, and use of health services. Comparisons will be made with 1600 adults from two larger studies, (i) the UK National Institute for Health Research-funded South East London Community Health study at the Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health, and (ii) the US National Institute of Health-funded Child Health and Development Disparities Study in the East Bay Area of California. UK and US researchers, health practitioners, and community members will be invited to participate in developing the social and historical contextual narratives and in planning the dissemination of our research findings. South East London Community Health (SELCoH) study is a follow up study of the community psychiatric and physical morbidity of adults, age 16 years and over from randomly selected households in the south London boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth. Participants were identified through use of the random household sampling as described and used for the Household Survey of the National Survey of Psychiatric morbidity (1). The sample is stratified across the two boroughs to ensure a similar sample size for each area. Individuals were eligible for participation providing they lived in a household in the catchment area. No further exclusion criteria applied. Recruitment for phase 1 (hereafter SELCoH-I), was done between 2008 and 2010, with the final data-set containing information on 1698 adults, aged between 16 and 90 years, from 1075 randomly selected households across two London boroughs. Further details on SELCoH’s organisation, sample and procedures may be found elsewhere (2). Most (94%) of the SELCoHI study participants agreed to be contacted for future studies. The second phase of SELCoH (hereafter SELCoH-II) is a coordinated follow up of participants that participated in the SELCoHI who have agreed to be followed up. This study is also shared with the study entitled, ‘An Health Disparities Study of Discrimination & Disparities in Health & Health Service Use in the UK and US (Health Disparities study) for which the UK sample is drawn from SELCoH I. Thus SELCoHII aimed to update the locally relevant prevalence estimates and to investigate the influence of deleterious experiences across different demographic groups. Recruitment of SELCoH study participants began by sending a letter describing the study. This was sent two weeks in advance of interviewers visiting a household. During each household visit, interviewers attempted contact with a resident. Where contact was achieved, potential participants were given study information, reminded that their continued engagement was voluntary and, where possible, scheduled for an in-home interview. A maximum of four contact attempts (inclusive of any messages and/or home visits) were permitted per eligible individual. Closely supervised, trained interviewers conducted face-to-face interviews with computer assisted interview schedules. The survey questionnaire collected information on the following topics: (1) demographics; (2) migration; (3) socioeconomic status (SES); (4) ethnic identity (5)work attitude and experience (6) psychosocial factors (e.g., social support); (7) neighbourhood characteristics; (8) social adversity; (9) health behaviours; (10) physical and mental health status; (11) treatment and health service use; (12) access to technology; (13) the experience of unfair treatment and discrimination; (14) coping methods; (15) wellbeing. Translators employed by the SLAM NHS Trust were used in interviews with non-English speaking adults upon request. Participants were able to end the interview at any time and compensated for their time. We also provided an option to do a telephone interview for participants who moved out of London. References 1. Jenkins R, Bebbington P, Brugha T, Farrell M, Gill B, Lewis G, Meltzer H, Petticrew M: The National Psychiatric Morbidity surveys of Great Britain-strategy and methods. Psychological Medicine 1997, 27(4): 765-774. 2. Hatch SL, Frissa S, Verdecchia M, Stewart R, Fear NT, Reichenberg A, Morgan C, Kankulu B, Clark J, Gazard B, Medcalf R, the SELCoH study team, Hotopf M: Identifying socio-demographic and socioeconomic determinants of health inequalities in a diverse London community: the South East London Community Health (SELCoH) study. BMC Public Health (2011) 11:861

New data set generated by ESRC funded study that set out to work with a collection of qualitative interviews exploring young people's (16-21) intimate and sexual life histories on 1988-90 in Manchester. New data generated includes oral history interviews with original research team and associated ephemera as well as documentation of a range of reanimating experiments undertaken with contemporary communities. The project connects feminist activism, youth work and social research within one city over a thirty year period.

In contemporary times archives are just a click away. There has been an extraordinary flourishing in personal and community archiving, using commercial and open access digital resources as a way of showing and telling about who we are. Emerging new contributor-audiences are offering transformed possibilities of a public and popular social science. Analogous shifts in academic practice have been initiated by funding bodies requiring that datasets are archived. This prescient move anticipated the digital revolution that would transform our ability to share and re-use data, assuring UK social scientists a leading role in debates around open archives and opportunities for data linkage and secondary analysis. Before 1996 the norm was that the documentation arising from qualitative social research was destroyed, lost - although some remained stored in attics and garages.

Our demonstrator project will secure and share an at-risk academic archive and bring it into dynamic conversation with a related community archive. We will harness the current extraordinary moment where lay and professional expertise are in dynamic equilibrium - with academia equipped to understand the protocols of long term preservation and community archives bringing new energy and imagination as to the value of data and what it might 'do' for and with us. At the same time, concerns about the ethics of visibility/ anonymity/ privacy, trust and the practicalities of sharing ownership, risk hindering the ability to realise these potentials. Through linking community archives with institutional repositories to facilitate an exchange of values, protocols and resources, we aim to develop the kinds of trust, imagination and inventive ethics for creative innovation to take place.

The substantive focus for our experiment is the question of teenage sexuality over a 30-year period, a question of public interest as well as academic contestation. We will work with two unique projects. The academic study is the influential ESRC-funded Women Risk and AIDS project (WRAP) conducted between 1988-90, involving 150 in-depth life history interviews with young women (16-21) in Manchester and London. The community archive is Manchester-based Feminist Webs a 'work space that acts as an archive and a resource for practitioners, volunteers and young women involved in youth and community work with young women'.

We will work with key stakeholders including archivists and museums, ethicists, youth workers, young people, data re-users, information scientists and data engineers, in order to do a number of things for the first time: return academic data to the community from which it was once extracted; to take careful risks in sharing documents without prior consent; enable distributed ownership using protocols to link institutional and community archives; re-enact research encounters.

Using drama methods with new generations of young women, practitioners and researchers, we will develop methods for public participation, collaborative analysis, to enact and re-perform the archive, creating new stories from our data, and new understandings of changes in the experience and portrayal of teenage sexualities over a complex thirty year period. We will create an open access online archive, including advice on practical and ethical guidelines platform, open access tools for data visualisation and analysis, that can be adapted and adopted by others, with the benefit of our learning on re-use, archiving and reanimating; including open educational resources materials targeted at schools as well as and trainee social scientists. Our aim is to inspire current and future researchers, academic and community-based, to archive and share their own data, to create linkage opportunities with community archives and academic datasets and popular research practices, which will allow us to better understand recent social change.

This project set out to save, digitise and archive a classic feminist social research data set (the Women Risk & AIDS Project 1988-90) and then to 'reanimate' this material with contemporary communities. The project has created two related data set: (i) the Women, Risk and AIDS Project data set 1988-90 (ii) the Reanimating Data set 2018-2021

The SPSS data file (RES-062-23-1831 FBS data for ESRC archive.sav) contains 215 variables entered either directly from Farm Management Survey (FMS) Field Books or derived from calculations using field book data and supplementary information (such as price indices). The file ‘RES-062-23-1831 SPSS data handbook.xlsx’ lists all of the variables (both in alphabetical order and the order they appear in in the SPSS file) and includes additional explanatory notes for each variable. Data cleaning was undertaken by looking for logically inconsistent relationships between various variables, querying and checking of anomalous results during data analysis and double checking a number of entries with the original field books. The data file contains information on 168 farm holdings in Devon, Dorset and Cornwall from 1939 to 1984. The file contains 4,987 cases. Each case in the SPSS file relates to a specific field book for a specific year for a particular farm. The 168 farms selected for inclusion in the SPSS dataset represent a proportion of all of the farms in the University of Exeter FMS archive. Farms were purposively selected, initially on grounds of longevity in the FMS sample and then to achieve coverage of a cross-section of farming situations in the counties of Devon, Dorset and Cornwall. The objectives of this project were to produce a detailed survey of agricultural change, and technical change in particular, over the period 1935 – 1985, and to shed light on how and when changes on individual farms were brought about. These objectives were realised, as detailed in the project end of award report. We should note that there was no requirement at the time of the awarding of the grant to produce a pathways to impact plan, and impact beyond these objectives was not the central focus of the project. As an historical project its impact beyond its contribution to the field of knowledge in this area was always bound to be limited. We did, however, identify groups of beneficiaries and we have worked to engage with these audiences to discuss our findings and to broaden knowledge and cultural understanding, and this work is outlined below. In particular we were keen to discuss our findings with rural historians, focusing on but not restricting ourselves to individuals and groups in the area studied, and to this end we undertook engagement with publics including relevant societies and other organisations, and this engagement conintues. Crucially, the PI and Co-Is lead numerous other funded research projects and the findings and knowledge gained from this project help to set the context for and feed into each of those. The policy work of the PI in particular is informed by broad historical contexts and knowledge about the implementation of and response to technological change provided by work on this project is vital in this regard.limited. We did, however, identify groups of beneficiaries and we have worked to engage with these audiences to discuss our findings and to broaden knowledge and cultural understanding, and this work is outlined below. In particular we were keen to discuss our findings with rural historians, focusing on but not restricting ourselves to individuals and groups in the area studied, and to this end we undertook engagement with publics including relevant societies and other organisations, and this engagement conintues. Crucially, the PI and Co-Is lead numerous other funded research projects and the findings and knowledge gained from this project help to set the context for and feed into each of those. The policy work of the PI in particular is informed by broad historical contexts and knowledge about the implementation of and response to technological change provided by work on this project is vital in this regard. The work on the Exeter archives was concerned with the collection of Farm Management Survey fieldbooks. Data on outputs, inputs and capital items were entered from farms that had remained in the survey for a significant period – generally over 20 years – and these were then processed to provide estimates of changes over time in output in relation to various inputs, the level of specialisation, use of machinery etc. The analysis of the total dataset provided 4,978 individual annual entries of information covering 168 different farm holdings (a mean of 29.6 years per farm) spread over Devon, Cornwall and Dorset. Further information on the annual FMS (now the Farm Business Survey, FBS), the aims and objectives of this research and associated oral history interviews are available via the attached Related resources.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

This research project followed up a previous Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) project (grant number R000223210, data not currently held at the UK Data Archive) that empirically described the world city network in 2000. This later project created a similar set of data for 2004, to describe changes since 2000.

Following the pioneering work of S. Sassen (1991/2001 and 1994), world/global cities were interpreted through their production and consumption of advanced producer services. Sassen's ideas were taken further, using these services to define inter-city relations and consequently a world city network of 'global service centres'.

The world city network is modelled as an interlocking network wherein advanced producer service firms 'inter-link' cities through their office networks. Under conditions of contemporary globalisation, the firms' projects for clients will typically involve several offices, bringing in different professional, creative, and geographical knowledge. The model's basic premise is that intra-firm flows of information, knowledge, instruction, plans, advice, personnel, ideas, etc., generated by a given office, are proportional to the size and importance of the office. The latter is termed the 'service value' of a city to a firm in the conduct of its everyday business. Therefore the flow between any pair of offices is the product of their service values. Aggregating such products for large numbers of firms produces estimates of inter-city flows and therefore describes the world city network.

This project used measures of the world city network in 2004 to compare to 2000 and thereby derive changes from 2000 to 2004. Such change data based upon a specific process are conspicuous by their absence in the debates about globalisation. Here, a new dynamic geography of contemporary globalisation may be created. By the time of the later project, some of the original firms no longer existed, and there were data compatibility problems, so that for 2004, data are presented for 80 firms. In all other respects the data collection was the same as for 2000.

Further information about the project, including publications, may be found on the ESRC World City Network Formation: Global Connections Audit and Analysis grant award web page.


Main Topics:

Data collection methodology consisted of using firms' web sites and recording information on their office networks. Therefore, two types of topic information were recorded: office size (e.g. number of law partners) and 'extra-locational' responsibilities (e.g. regional office). Because all web sites are different, the range of information obtained required codifying into a common metric. Service values were coded 0 (no office in a city) through to 5 (headquarter city) with other scores depending on the size and extra-locational functions of offices in cities. In the 2000 project, the office networks of 100 'global service firms' were described across 315 cities. The services covered were accountancy, advertising, banking/finance, insurance, law, and management consultancy.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.Background:The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) is a large-scale, multi-purpose longitudinal dataset providing information about babies born at the beginning of the 21st century, their progress through life, and the families who are bringing them up, for the four countries of the United Kingdom. The original objectives of the first MCS survey, as laid down in the proposal to the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in March 2000, were:to chart the initial conditions of social, economic and health advantages and disadvantages facing children born at the start of the 21st century, capturing information that the research community of the future will requireto provide a basis for comparing patterns of development with the preceding cohorts (the National Child Development Study, held at the UK Data Archive under GN 33004, and the 1970 Birth Cohort Study, held under GN 33229)to collect information on previously neglected topics, such as fathers' involvement in children's care and developmentto focus on parents as the most immediate elements of the children's 'background', charting their experience as mothers and fathers of newborn babies in the year 2000, recording how they (and any other children in the family) adapted to the newcomer, and what their aspirations for her/his future may beto emphasise intergenerational links including those back to the parents' own childhoodto investigate the wider social ecology of the family, including social networks, civic engagement and community facilities and services, splicing in geo-coded data when availableAdditional objectives subsequently included for MCS were:to provide control cases for the national evaluation of Sure Start (a government programme intended to alleviate child poverty and social exclusion)to provide samples of adequate size to analyse and compare the smaller countries of the United Kingdom, and include disadvantaged areas of EnglandFurther information about the MCS can be found on the Centre for Longitudinal Studies web pages.The content of MCS studies, including questions, topics and variables can be explored via the CLOSER Discovery website. The first sweep (MCS1) interviewed both mothers and (where resident) fathers (or father-figures) of infants included in the sample when the babies were nine months old, and the second sweep (MCS2) was carried out with the same respondents when the children were three years of age. The third sweep (MCS3) was conducted in 2006, when the children were aged five years old, the fourth sweep (MCS4) in 2008, when they were seven years old, the fifth sweep (MCS5) in 2012-2013, when they were eleven years old, the sixth sweep (MCS6) in 2015, when they were fourteen years old, and the seventh sweep (MCS7) in 2018, when they were seventeen years old.End User Licence versions of MCS studies:The End User Licence (EUL) versions of MCS1, MCS2, MCS3, MCS4, MCS5, MCS6 and MCS7 are held under UK Data Archive SNs 4683, 5350, 5795, 6411, 7464, 8156 and 8682 respectively. The longitudinal family file is held under SN 8172.Sub-sample studies:Some studies based on sub-samples of MCS have also been conducted, including a study of MCS respondent mothers who had received assisted fertility treatment, conducted in 2003 (see EUL SN 5559). Also, birth registration and maternity hospital episodes for the MCS respondents are held as a separate dataset (see EUL SN 5614).Release of Sweeps 1 to 4 to Long Format (Summer 2020)To support longitudinal research and make it easier to compare data from different time points, all data from across all sweeps is now in a consistent format. The update affects the data from sweeps 1 to 4 (from 9 months to 7 years), which are updated from the old/wide to a new/long format to match the format of data of sweeps 5 and 6 (age 11 and 14 sweeps). The old/wide formatted datasets contained one row per family with multiple variables for different respondents. The new/long formatted datasets contain one row per respondent (per parent or per cohort member) for each MCS family. Additional updates have been made to all sweeps to harmonise variable labels and enhance anonymisation. How to access genetic and/or bio-medical sample data from a range of longitudinal surveys:For information on how to access biomedical data from MCS that are not held at the UKDS, see the CLS Genetic data and biological samples webpage.Secure Access datasets:Secure Access versions of the MCS have more restrictive access conditions than versions available under the standard End User Licence or Special Licence (see 'Access data' tab above).Secure Access versions of the MCS include:detailed sensitive variables not available under EUL. These have been grouped thematically and are held under SN 8753 (socio-economic, accommodation and occupational data), SN 8754 (self-reported health, behaviour and fertility), SN 8755 (demographics, language and religion) and SN 8756 (exact participation dates). These files replace previously available studies held under SNs 8456 and 8622-8627detailed geographical identifier files which are grouped by sweep held under SN 7758 (MCS1), SN 7759 (MCS2), SN 7760 (MCS3), SN 7761 (MCS4), SN 7762 (MCS5 2001 Census Boundaries), SN 7763 (MCS5 2011 Census Boundaries), SN 8231 (MCS6 2001 Census Boundaries), SN 8232 (MCS6 2011 Census Boundaries), SN 8757 (MCS7), SN 8758 (MCS7 2001 Census Boundaries) and SN 8759 (MCS7 2011 Census Boundaries). These files replace previously available files grouped by geography SN 7049 (Ward level), SN 7050 (Lower Super Output Area level), and SN 7051 (Output Area level)linked education administrative datasets for Key Stages 1, 2 and 4 held under SN 8481 (England). This replaces previously available datasets for Key Stage 1 (SN 6862) and Key Stage 2 (SN 7712)linked education administrative datasets for Key Stage 1 held under SN 7414 (Scotland)linked education administrative dataset for Key Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 under SN 9085 (Wales)linked NHS Patient Episode Database for Wales (PEDW) for MCS1 – MCS5 held under SN 8302linked Scottish Medical Records data held under SNs 8709, 8710, 8711, 8712, 8713 and 8714;Banded Distances to English Grammar Schools for MCS5 held under SN 8394linked Health Administrative Datasets (Hospital Episode Statistics) for England for years 2000-2019 held under SN 9030linked Hospital of Birth data held under SN 5724.The linked education administrative datasets held under SNs 8481,7414 and 9085 may be ordered alongside the MCS detailed geographical identifier files only if sufficient justification is provided in the application. Users are also only allowed access to either 2001 or 2011 of Geographical Identifiers Census Boundaries studies. So for MCS5 either SN 7762 (2001 Census Boundaries) or SN 7763 (2011 Census Boundaries), for the MCS6 users are only allowed either SN 8231 (2001 Census Boundaries) or SN 8232 (2011 Census Boundaries); and the same applies for MCS7 so either SN 8758 (2001 Census Boundaries) or SN 8759 (2011 Census Boundaries).Researchers applying for access to the Secure Access MCS datasets should indicate on their ESRC Accredited Researcher application form the EUL dataset(s) that they also wish to access (selected from the MCS Series Access web page). The MCS Longitudinal Family File can be used for research that focuses on a single sweep of MCS or cross-sweep. The file contains the outcomes of MCS families and weights for each sweep released so far. This means that it can be used to follow cases longitudinally. Specific information on how the weight variables have been constructed for each sweep is provided with the User Guide of the respective sweep. The user guide of the MCS longitudinal family file provides guidance on specific variables. For the fourth edition (September 2020), the data file has been updated to include the weights for the seventh survey (MCS7).

The National Child Development Study (NCDS) is a continuing longitudinal study that seeks to follow the lives of all those living in Great Britain who were born in one particular week in 1958. The aim of the study is to improve understanding of the factors affecting human development over the whole lifespan.

The NCDS has its origins in the Perinatal Mortality Survey (PMS) (the original PMS study is held at the UK Data Archive under SN 2137). This study was sponsored by the National Birthday Trust Fund and designed to examine the social and obstetric factors associated with stillbirth and death in early infancy among the 17,000 children born in England, Scotland and Wales in that one week. Selected data from the PMS form NCDS sweep 0, held alongside NCDS sweeps 1-3, under SN 5565.

Survey and Biomeasures Data (GN 33004):
To date there have been nine attempts to trace all members of the birth cohort in order to monitor their physical, educational and social development. The first three sweeps were carried out by the National Children's Bureau, in 1965, when respondents were aged 7, in 1969, aged 11, and in 1974, aged 16 (these sweeps form NCDS1-3, held together with NCDS0 under SN 5565). The fourth sweep, also carried out by the National Children's Bureau, was conducted in 1981, when respondents were aged 23 (held under SN 5566). In 1985 the NCDS moved to the Social Statistics Research Unit (SSRU) - now known as the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS). The fifth sweep was carried out in 1991, when respondents were aged 33 (held under SN 5567). For the sixth sweep, conducted in 1999-2000, when respondents were aged 42 (NCDS6, held under SN 5578), fieldwork was combined with the 1999-2000 wave of the 1970 Birth Cohort Study (BCS70), which was also conducted by CLS (and held under GN 33229). The seventh sweep was conducted in 2004-2005 when the respondents were aged 46 (held under SN 5579), the eighth sweep was conducted in 2008-2009 when respondents were aged 50 (held under SN 6137) and the ninth sweep was conducted in 2013 when respondents were aged 55 (held under SN 7669).

Four separate datasets covering responses to NCDS over all sweeps are available. National Child Development Deaths Dataset: Special Licence Access (SN 7717) covers deaths; National Child Development Study Response and Outcomes Dataset (SN 5560) covers all other responses and outcomes; National Child Development Study: Partnership Histories (SN 6940) includes data on live-in relationships; and National Child Development Study: Activity Histories (SN 6942) covers work and non-work activities. Users are advised to order these studies alongside the other waves of NCDS.

From 2002-2004, a Biomedical Survey was completed and is available under End User Licence (EUL) (SN 8731) and Special Licence (SL) (SN 5594). Proteomics analyses of blood samples are available under SL SN 9254.

Linked Geographical Data (GN 33497):
A number of geographical variables are available, under more restrictive access conditions, which can be linked to the NCDS EUL and SL access studies.

Linked Administrative Data (GN 33396):
A number of linked administrative datasets are available, under more restrictive access conditions, which can be linked to the NCDS EUL and SL access studies. These include a Deaths dataset (SN 7717) available under SL and the Linked Health Administrative Datasets (SN 8697) available under Secure Access.

Additional Sub-Studies (GN 33562):
In addition to the main NCDS sweeps, further studies have also been conducted on a range of subjects such as parent migration, unemployment, behavioural studies and respondent essays. The full list of NCDS studies available from the UK Data Service can be found on the NCDS series access data webpage.

How to access genetic and/or bio-medical sample data from a range of longitudinal surveys:
For information on how to access biomedical data from NCDS that are not held at the UKDS, see the CLS Genetic data and biological samples webpage.

Further information about the full NCDS series can be found on the Centre for Longitudinal Studies website.

The Social Participation and Identity project combined quantitative longitudinal data with a qualitative investigation of a sub-sample of the NCDS cohort when they were aged 50, presented here as a mixed-methods data collection containing both qualitative and quantitative data. This was the first attempt to interview members of a national, longitudinal cohort study in depth, with the possibility of linking such biographical narratives to structured survey data collected throughout the life course. Interviews were conducted with a sub-sample of 220 NCDS cohort members resident in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). The interviews were organised into six main sections focussing on: 1) Neighbourhood and belonging; 2) Leisure activities and social participation; 3) Personal communities; 4) Life histories; 5) Identity; 6) Reflections on being part of the NCDS.

Further information:

• details of the qualitative NCDS project (and the rest of the NCDS series) can be found on the Centre for Longitudinal Studies website and Social Participation and Identity ESRC award webpage.
• A list of the UK Data Archive's NCDS holdings, both quantitative and qualitative, can be found on the NCDS key data page.

For the first and second editions of the study (2011 and 2012), the interview transcripts, interviewer observation summaries, gender identity diagrams and life trajectory diagrams for all participants were made available. For the third edition (July 2013), 179 essays collected from the subproject participants at the time of the NCDS2 wave (conducted 1969) were added to the study. See documentation for further details. (Users should note that an additional sample of transcribed essays from a wider set of NCDS2 participants is available from the Archive under SN 8313.)

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.Background:The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) is a large-scale, multi-purpose longitudinal dataset providing information about babies born at the beginning of the 21st century, their progress through life, and the families who are bringing them up, for the four countries of the United Kingdom. The original objectives of the first MCS survey, as laid down in the proposal to the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in March 2000, were:to chart the initial conditions of social, economic and health advantages and disadvantages facing children born at the start of the 21st century, capturing information that the research community of the future will requireto provide a basis for comparing patterns of development with the preceding cohorts (the National Child Development Study, held at the UK Data Archive under GN 33004, and the 1970 Birth Cohort Study, held under GN 33229)to collect information on previously neglected topics, such as fathers' involvement in children's care and developmentto focus on parents as the most immediate elements of the children's 'background', charting their experience as mothers and fathers of newborn babies in the year 2000, recording how they (and any other children in the family) adapted to the newcomer, and what their aspirations for her/his future may beto emphasise intergenerational links including those back to the parents' own childhoodto investigate the wider social ecology of the family, including social networks, civic engagement and community facilities and services, splicing in geo-coded data when availableAdditional objectives subsequently included for MCS were:to provide control cases for the national evaluation of Sure Start (a government programme intended to alleviate child poverty and social exclusion)to provide samples of adequate size to analyse and compare the smaller countries of the United Kingdom, and include disadvantaged areas of EnglandFurther information about the MCS can be found on the Centre for Longitudinal Studies web pages.The content of MCS studies, including questions, topics and variables can be explored via the CLOSER Discovery website. The first sweep (MCS1) interviewed both mothers and (where resident) fathers (or father-figures) of infants included in the sample when the babies were nine months old, and the second sweep (MCS2) was carried out with the same respondents when the children were three years of age. The third sweep (MCS3) was conducted in 2006, when the children were aged five years old, the fourth sweep (MCS4) in 2008, when they were seven years old, the fifth sweep (MCS5) in 2012-2013, when they were eleven years old, the sixth sweep (MCS6) in 2015, when they were fourteen years old, and the seventh sweep (MCS7) in 2018, when they were seventeen years old.End User Licence versions of MCS studies:The End User Licence (EUL) versions of MCS1, MCS2, MCS3, MCS4, MCS5, MCS6 and MCS7 are held under UK Data Archive SNs 4683, 5350, 5795, 6411, 7464, 8156 and 8682 respectively. The longitudinal family file is held under SN 8172.Sub-sample studies:Some studies based on sub-samples of MCS have also been conducted, including a study of MCS respondent mothers who had received assisted fertility treatment, conducted in 2003 (see EUL SN 5559). Also, birth registration and maternity hospital episodes for the MCS respondents are held as a separate dataset (see EUL SN 5614).Release of Sweeps 1 to 4 to Long Format (Summer 2020)To support longitudinal research and make it easier to compare data from different time points, all data from across all sweeps is now in a consistent format. The update affects the data from sweeps 1 to 4 (from 9 months to 7 years), which are updated from the old/wide to a new/long format to match the format of data of sweeps 5 and 6 (age 11 and 14 sweeps). The old/wide formatted datasets contained one row per family with multiple variables for different respondents. The new/long formatted datasets contain one row per respondent (per parent or per cohort member) for each MCS family. Additional updates have been made to all sweeps to harmonise variable labels and enhance anonymisation. How to access genetic and/or bio-medical sample data from a range of longitudinal surveys:For information on how to access biomedical data from MCS that are not held at the UKDS, see the CLS Genetic data and biological samples webpage.Secure Access datasets:Secure Access versions of the MCS have more restrictive access conditions than versions available under the standard End User Licence or Special Licence (see 'Access data' tab above).Secure Access versions of the MCS include:detailed sensitive variables not available under EUL. These have been grouped thematically and are held under SN 8753 (socio-economic, accommodation and occupational data), SN 8754 (self-reported health, behaviour and fertility), SN 8755 (demographics, language and religion) and SN 8756 (exact participation dates). These files replace previously available studies held under SNs 8456 and 8622-8627detailed geographical identifier files which are grouped by sweep held under SN 7758 (MCS1), SN 7759 (MCS2), SN 7760 (MCS3), SN 7761 (MCS4), SN 7762 (MCS5 2001 Census Boundaries), SN 7763 (MCS5 2011 Census Boundaries), SN 8231 (MCS6 2001 Census Boundaries), SN 8232 (MCS6 2011 Census Boundaries), SN 8757 (MCS7), SN 8758 (MCS7 2001 Census Boundaries) and SN 8759 (MCS7 2011 Census Boundaries). These files replace previously available files grouped by geography SN 7049 (Ward level), SN 7050 (Lower Super Output Area level), and SN 7051 (Output Area level)linked education administrative datasets for Key Stages 1, 2 and 4 held under SN 8481 (England). This replaces previously available datasets for Key Stage 1 (SN 6862) and Key Stage 2 (SN 7712)linked education administrative datasets for Key Stage 1 held under SN 7414 (Scotland)linked education administrative dataset for Key Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 under SN 9085 (Wales)linked NHS Patient Episode Database for Wales (PEDW) for MCS1 – MCS5 held under SN 8302linked Scottish Medical Records data held under SNs 8709, 8710, 8711, 8712, 8713 and 8714;Banded Distances to English Grammar Schools for MCS5 held under SN 8394linked Health Administrative Datasets (Hospital Episode Statistics) for England for years 2000-2019 held under SN 9030linked Hospital of Birth data held under SN 5724.The linked education administrative datasets held under SNs 8481,7414 and 9085 may be ordered alongside the MCS detailed geographical identifier files only if sufficient justification is provided in the application. Users are also only allowed access to either 2001 or 2011 of Geographical Identifiers Census Boundaries studies. So for MCS5 either SN 7762 (2001 Census Boundaries) or SN 7763 (2011 Census Boundaries), for the MCS6 users are only allowed either SN 8231 (2001 Census Boundaries) or SN 8232 (2011 Census Boundaries); and the same applies for MCS7 so either SN 8758 (2001 Census Boundaries) or SN 8759 (2011 Census Boundaries).Researchers applying for access to the Secure Access MCS datasets should indicate on their ESRC Accredited Researcher application form the EUL dataset(s) that they also wish to access (selected from the MCS Series Access web page). While many of the areas covered in MCS3 built on the information already collected in MCS1 (age 9 months) and MCS2 (age 3 years), a number of new items were also included, such as the measurement of waist circumference. Information was gathered from the cohort members' parents or guardians for the main Parent Interview. In addition there were four cognitive assessments and three physical measurements of the cohort child, and a paper self-completion questionnaire for up to two older siblings aged 10-15 years. The Teacher Survey and Foundation Stage Profile data and documentation are available in a separate study: SN 6847 - Millennium Cohort Study: Third Survey Teacher Survey and Foundation Stage Profile, 2006. May 2017: The longitudinal family file is now available separately under SN 8172.Update 20 March 2020: The datasets became available in a long format (one row per respondent) compared to the wide old format (one row per family). Information on the restructure of the variables from long to wide is provided in Part 9 of the MCS 1-5 User Guide. Help with the distribution of the variables in datasets is provided in the MCS1-4_Wide_Long_Correspondence_v* and in the MCS_Longitudinal_Data_Dictionary.November 2023: We are aware that some errors exist in the derived variable datasets. Please do not use until next updated.This study now includes the data and documentation from the Teacher Survey completed at Sweep 3 which were previously available under SN 6847.For the ninth edition (January 2022), a new data file mcs3_family_interview has been added due to the family level data being split out from the parent-level data to make future merging with MCS8 onwards easier. Two data files (mcs3_parent_interview and mcs3_parent_cm_interview) have been updated to include variables that were missed from the previous edition due to a technical error. In addition, mcs3_hhgrid has had some data edits applied.Also the following data file specific changes have been made:mcs3_hhgridTotal number of cases has changed due to data updates. For sample size please check the longitudinal family file. Main Topics: The files currently included in the MCS3 study comprise data from the main Parent Interview, the Household Grid, Child Measurement and Assessment and the Older Siblings questionnaire. The Parent Interview file comprises data from the Main Respondent, Partner Respondent and Proxy Respondent questionnaires, which covered household information; family context; early education, schooling and childcare; child and family activities and child's behaviour; parenting activities; child's health; parent's health; employment, income and education; housing and local

The aim of the Centre for Population Change (CPC) General Household Survey (GHS) Database project was twofold. The first objective was to create a new data resource, assembling in a single data file, in harmonised form, a time series of repeated cross-sectional GHS survey data on demographic histories relating to fertility, marriage and cohabitation. The second objective was to use this new data resource to analyse the changing dynamics of childbearing and partnership over recent decades, and especially to examine the determinants of the changing timetable of fertility and partnership. The data are a subset, in harmonised form, of all GHS rounds 1979-2009, with those from 1998-2009 being Special Licence editions plus the previous 1972-2004 Time Series GHS Dataset. From 2008, the GHS was known as the General Lifestyle Survey until it closed in 2012. See the UK Data Service General Lifestyle Survey series webpage (http://discover.ukdataservice.ac.uk/series/?sn=200019) for the original catalogue records. Further information about construction of the database can be found in the documentation. Information about the overall project can be found on the ESRC Centre for Population Change: Understanding Population Change in the 21st Century award page (http://www.researchcatalogue.esrc.ac.uk/grants/RES-625-28-0001/read). The Secure Access version replaces the previous Special Licence version that was held under SN 7666, which is no longer available. Prospective users of the Secure Access data will need to fulfil additional requirements, including completion of face-to-face training and agreement to Secure Access' User Agreement and Breaches Penalties Policy, in order to obtain permission to use that version (see 'Access' section below). Full citation: The Principal Investigators' preferred full citation for the database is as follows: Beaujouan, E., Ni Bhrolcháin, M., Berrington, A., Falkingham, J. Centre for Population Change General Household Survey Database, 1979-2009: Secure Access [computer file]. Office for National Statistics. Social Survey Division, [original data producer(s)]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive [distributor], March 2015. SN: 8099, http://dx.doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-8099-1

This dataset contains Local Authority District (LAD) geographic variables for each wave of the BHPS and a household identification serial number for file matching to the main BHPS data. This dataset is subject to restrictive access conditions, different to those for the main BHPS: see Information box on the right or Access section below.

LADs: There are two different releases available for Local Authority Districts (LAD) linked to the British Household Panel Survey.

* SN 6027 provides the LAD codes as used by official statistics and are therefore linkable. The code is four digit (except for Northern Ireland). Further information - including a full list of codes - may be found in the studies' user guides.

* SN 6028 gives codes created specifically for the BHPS, where the LADs were aggregated if their population fell below 120,000 in 1991 (for reasons of preventing disclosure). These codes are not linkable to other published statistics. They are still provided to users because until recently they were the only LAD codings available and some users may want to update their analyses using the old codes. Further information - including a full list of codes - may be found in the studies' user guides.

Latest edition: For the fourth edition (January 2014) revised geographic data files for each wave have been deposited. The documentation has also been updated.

The main British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) is conducted by the ESRC UK Longitudinal Studies Centre (ULSC), together with the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex. In addition to conducting the BHPS and disseminating it to the research community, ISER undertakes a programme of research based on panel data, using the BHPS and other national panels to monitor and measure social change.

The main objective of the BHPS is to further understanding of social and economic change at the individual and household level in the UK, and to identify, model and forecast such changes and their causes and consequences in relation to a range of socio-economic variables. It is conducted as a longitudinal study, where each adult member (aged 16 years and over) of a sampled household is interviewed annually. If individuals leave their original household, all adult members of their new households are interviewed. Children are also interviewed. For full details of the BHPS methodology, sampling, changes over time, and a complete set of documentation, see the main BHPS study, held at the UK Data Archive under SN 5151.

Understanding Society:
From Wave 19, the BHPS has been subsumed into a new longitudinal study called Understanding Society, or the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), conducted by ISER. The BHPS Wave 19 formed part of Understanding Society Wave 2 (January 2010 - March 2011). The BHPS fieldwork period therefore moved from September-April to January-March. This means that the gap between interviews 18 and 19 for the BHPS sample ranges between 16 and 30 months rather than the standard 12 months. From Wave 2, the BHPS sample has been a permanent part of the larger study and interviews are conducted annually again. BHPS sample members have an identifier within the Understanding Society datasets, allowing BHPS users to match BHPS Wave 1-18 data to Understanding Society. The main Understanding Society study, held under SN 6614 now includes harmonised BHPS data in addition to the main Understanding Society files. Further information is available on the Understanding Society web site.

This is a mixed-methods data collection. Researchers at Cardiff University, and the Business School, University of Plymouth, were funded by the ESRC from 2007-2011 to carry out a four-year study of Workplace Bullying and Harassment in Britain with Special Reference to Race and Ethnicity. This mixed-methods project comprised a large, representative survey and several in-depth organisational case studies.

The quantitative element, the British Workplace Behaviour Survey, 2007-2008 (BWBS), is the most comprehensive survey of ill-treatment in the workplace so far undertaken in Britain. It collected detailed information on the incidence and correlates of unreasonable treatment, denigration and disrespect, and violence and injury in the workplace. A central element of the questionnaire used in the BWBS was a revised version of the Negative Acts Questionnaire (NAQ) (Einarsen and Raknes, 1997) which asks about experience of 21 different types of ill-treatment. Interviews were carried out with a representative sample of British employees (and people who had been employees in the last two years). This provided information on workplaces and employees required for modelling the causes and correlates of ill-treatment, including behaviour which could be perceived as bullying and harassment. The achieved sample of 3,494 included a non-white/non-Christian boost. TNS BMRB were contracted to conduct the survey. (The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills later adopted the same methodology for their 2008/09 Fair Treatment at Work Survey (FTWS), held at the UK Data Archive under SN 6382.)

In the qualitative phase, four organisational case studies, each comprising approximately 20 interviews with employees, were carried out in order to further illuminate the quantitative data provided by the BWBS. The participating organisations were an NHS trust, a logistics and communication organisation, a financial services company and an engineering company. These organisations were selected because they employed Human Resources professionals and had worker representation, contained workplaces of sufficient size and sufficient numbers of employees of various kinds, for example black and minority ethnic (BME) employees and those with disabilities or health problems. As well as the full case studies, the data collection includes a small number of interviews in a third sector organisation, producing 88 interviews in total.

Further information may be found on the ESRC Workplace Bullying and Harassment in Britain with Special Reference to Race and Ethnicity award webpage.

For the second edition (April 2014), the qualitative interview transcripts have been added to the data collection.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

'Rediscovering the Civic and Achieving Better Outcomes in Public Policy' is an ESRC Ventures research programme funded by ESRC with co-funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government and the North West Improvement and Efficiency Network. The project aimed to find out the most effective means to encourage active citizenship. The project uses innovative experimental methods including randomised controlled trials and design experiments as well as survey re-analysis to understand the civic-outcome link.

The data available under this study comprise the results of a randomised controlled trial testing whether doorstep canvassing can raise participation in pavement-side recycling. The trial was conducted in Old Trafford and Gorse Hill, Greater Manchester in March - October 2008. Recycling participation rates for 6,580 households were measured by observing bin set out rates over a three week period. Half of the streets in the area were randomly assigned to receive an intervention to encourage recycling. All households on these streets were visited by canvassers who were trained to promote and encourage recycling. Half of the streets were placed in a control group and received no special attention. Recycling participation rates for all households were measured after the intervention to see if the intervention had been effective in raising participation rates.

Further information can be found on the Rediscovering the Civic and Achieving Better Outcomes in Public Policy ESRC Award web page.

A later study conducted under the same project is held at the UK Data Archive under SN 6973, How Pledging Can Make a Difference to Charitable Giving: a Randomised Controlled Trial of a Book Donation Campaign, 2010.


Main Topics:

Data are at street level/super output area level and include recycling participation rates. There are also some other descriptive measures of the neighbourhood such as percentage of non-white population, percentage of terraced housing and an index of multiple deprivation score.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The European Values Study (EVS) and World Values Survey (WVS) series is designed to enable a cross-national, cross-cultural comparison of values and norms on a wide variety of topics and to monitor changes in values and attitudes across the globe. The WVS is one of the world's most extensive and most widely used social surveys. Since 1981, it has captured the views of almost 400,000 respondents in over 110 countries, covering topics including cultural identity, migration, trust, empathy, tolerance, media consumption, political interest, the environment and more.

These surveys show pervasive changes in what people want out of life and what they believe. To monitor these changes, the EVS/WVS has executed seven waves of surveys to date at various times between 1981 and 2022. Representative national samples of each society's public are interviewed using a standardised questionnaire covering various social, economic, cultural and religious topics. The countries included in these surveys cover the full range from very poor countries to very rich ones, from authoritarian systems to liberal democracies, covering all major cultural zones.

Further information about each survey series can be found on the EVS and WVS websites.

The European Values Study: Wave 4, Great Britain, 2009-2010 forms the Great Britain part of Wave 4 of the wider European Values Survey, the fieldwork for which began in some participating countries during 2008. Many of the questions posed replicate previous surveys, thus enabling analysis of change over time on the key dimensions of the EVS. With the addition of the fourth wave, the EVS is a unique source of trend data for the past three decades. The range of potential research questions is very wide, using either this dataset on its own or in conjunction with previous waves, or looking either at Britain alone or in comparison with other European countries. Further information is available from the British participation in the European Values Study ESRC Award web page.

These data are also included in European Values Study: Wave 4, 2008, which is available for online analysis and download via ZACAT. Please see SN 6539 at the UK Data Archive for details.


Main Topics:

The study particularly focuses on questions around family, work, religious, political and societal values. Other topics include national identity, tolerance, social solidarity and life satisfaction. The questionnaire also contains items on issues of personal and civic ethics (from smoking indoors to suicide).

This data set contains qualitative data collected on the career and work experiences of paralegals in five UK law firms. It comprises a dataset of 79 interviews with paralegals, lawyers, members of professional bodies and educators across the UK, specifically England and Northern Ireland. The interviews were conducted either in person or on the phone, average around one hour, were audio recorded and transcribed. The interview schedule included questions on their career journeys and critical career moments, how they perceive career mobility and career success as well as the challenges and advantages of their role. In addition, participant drawings from 28 paralegals were collected, where participants were asked to visually express their experience of their role. One of the key developments in professions over the last decade has been the rise of paraprofessional labour. Given the scarcity of research in this area, the aim of this ESRC Future Research Leader's project is to investigate how paraprofessionals experience working and making a career in contemporary professional environments. Specifically, it focuses on how paraprofessionals experience and attempt to reconcile the tensions of being situated in a changing professional world, characterised by technologicalisation and commodification on one hand, and traditional ways of organising, based on professional expertise and privileged status, on the other. The insights generated will be particularly relevant for the understanding of contemporary professional work and professional careers for both, academics and practitioners.

These data were generated as part of a two-year ESRC-funded research project examining how people with learning disabilities and their allies are responding to changes in social care provision in the UK, as traditional day services close and policy shifts towards personalisation and community-based enterprises. Using the concept of 'self-building’ to identify emergent practices and learning, researchers at the University of Southampton and the University of Dundee sought to develop case studies in four geographical areas in the UK: an urban and rural area in the South of England, and an urban and rural area in Scotland. The transcripts comprise interviews with local authority commissioners (n=5) and practitioners from supporting organisations (n=22), and focus groups and follow up individual interviews with people with learning disabilities (n=25).

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.Background:The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) is a large-scale, multi-purpose longitudinal dataset providing information about babies born at the beginning of the 21st century, their progress through life, and the families who are bringing them up, for the four countries of the United Kingdom. The original objectives of the first MCS survey, as laid down in the proposal to the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in March 2000, were:to chart the initial conditions of social, economic and health advantages and disadvantages facing children born at the start of the 21st century, capturing information that the research community of the future will requireto provide a basis for comparing patterns of development with the preceding cohorts (the National Child Development Study, held at the UK Data Archive under GN 33004, and the 1970 Birth Cohort Study, held under GN 33229)to collect information on previously neglected topics, such as fathers' involvement in children's care and developmentto focus on parents as the most immediate elements of the children's 'background', charting their experience as mothers and fathers of newborn babies in the year 2000, recording how they (and any other children in the family) adapted to the newcomer, and what their aspirations for her/his future may beto emphasise intergenerational links including those back to the parents' own childhoodto investigate the wider social ecology of the family, including social networks, civic engagement and community facilities and services, splicing in geo-coded data when availableAdditional objectives subsequently included for MCS were:to provide control cases for the national evaluation of Sure Start (a government programme intended to alleviate child poverty and social exclusion)to provide samples of adequate size to analyse and compare the smaller countries of the United Kingdom, and include disadvantaged areas of EnglandFurther information about the MCS can be found on the Centre for Longitudinal Studies web pages.The content of MCS studies, including questions, topics and variables can be explored via the CLOSER Discovery website. The first sweep (MCS1) interviewed both mothers and (where resident) fathers (or father-figures) of infants included in the sample when the babies were nine months old, and the second sweep (MCS2) was carried out with the same respondents when the children were three years of age. The third sweep (MCS3) was conducted in 2006, when the children were aged five years old, the fourth sweep (MCS4) in 2008, when they were seven years old, the fifth sweep (MCS5) in 2012-2013, when they were eleven years old, the sixth sweep (MCS6) in 2015, when they were fourteen years old, and the seventh sweep (MCS7) in 2018, when they were seventeen years old.End User Licence versions of MCS studies:The End User Licence (EUL) versions of MCS1, MCS2, MCS3, MCS4, MCS5, MCS6 and MCS7 are held under UK Data Archive SNs 4683, 5350, 5795, 6411, 7464, 8156 and 8682 respectively. The longitudinal family file is held under SN 8172.Sub-sample studies:Some studies based on sub-samples of MCS have also been conducted, including a study of MCS respondent mothers who had received assisted fertility treatment, conducted in 2003 (see EUL SN 5559). Also, birth registration and maternity hospital episodes for the MCS respondents are held as a separate dataset (see EUL SN 5614).Release of Sweeps 1 to 4 to Long Format (Summer 2020)To support longitudinal research and make it easier to compare data from different time points, all data from across all sweeps is now in a consistent format. The update affects the data from sweeps 1 to 4 (from 9 months to 7 years), which are updated from the old/wide to a new/long format to match the format of data of sweeps 5 and 6 (age 11 and 14 sweeps). The old/wide formatted datasets contained one row per family with multiple variables for different respondents. The new/long formatted datasets contain one row per respondent (per parent or per cohort member) for each MCS family. Additional updates have been made to all sweeps to harmonise variable labels and enhance anonymisation. How to access genetic and/or bio-medical sample data from a range of longitudinal surveys:For information on how to access biomedical data from MCS that are not held at the UKDS, see the CLS Genetic data and biological samples webpage.Secure Access datasets:Secure Access versions of the MCS have more restrictive access conditions than versions available under the standard End User Licence or Special Licence (see 'Access data' tab above).Secure Access versions of the MCS include:detailed sensitive variables not available under EUL. These have been grouped thematically and are held under SN 8753 (socio-economic, accommodation and occupational data), SN 8754 (self-reported health, behaviour and fertility), SN 8755 (demographics, language and religion) and SN 8756 (exact participation dates). These files replace previously available studies held under SNs 8456 and 8622-8627detailed geographical identifier files which are grouped by sweep held under SN 7758 (MCS1), SN 7759 (MCS2), SN 7760 (MCS3), SN 7761 (MCS4), SN 7762 (MCS5 2001 Census Boundaries), SN 7763 (MCS5 2011 Census Boundaries), SN 8231 (MCS6 2001 Census Boundaries), SN 8232 (MCS6 2011 Census Boundaries), SN 8757 (MCS7), SN 8758 (MCS7 2001 Census Boundaries) and SN 8759 (MCS7 2011 Census Boundaries). These files replace previously available files grouped by geography SN 7049 (Ward level), SN 7050 (Lower Super Output Area level), and SN 7051 (Output Area level)linked education administrative datasets for Key Stages 1, 2 and 4 held under SN 8481 (England). This replaces previously available datasets for Key Stage 1 (SN 6862) and Key Stage 2 (SN 7712)linked education administrative datasets for Key Stage 1 held under SN 7414 (Scotland)linked education administrative dataset for Key Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 under SN 9085 (Wales)linked NHS Patient Episode Database for Wales (PEDW) for MCS1 – MCS5 held under SN 8302linked Scottish Medical Records data held under SNs 8709, 8710, 8711, 8712, 8713 and 8714;Banded Distances to English Grammar Schools for MCS5 held under SN 8394linked Health Administrative Datasets (Hospital Episode Statistics) for England for years 2000-2019 held under SN 9030linked Hospital of Birth data held under SN 5724.The linked education administrative datasets held under SNs 8481,7414 and 9085 may be ordered alongside the MCS detailed geographical identifier files only if sufficient justification is provided in the application. Users are also only allowed access to either 2001 or 2011 of Geographical Identifiers Census Boundaries studies. So for MCS5 either SN 7762 (2001 Census Boundaries) or SN 7763 (2011 Census Boundaries), for the MCS6 users are only allowed either SN 8231 (2001 Census Boundaries) or SN 8232 (2011 Census Boundaries); and the same applies for MCS7 so either SN 8758 (2001 Census Boundaries) or SN 8759 (2011 Census Boundaries).Researchers applying for access to the Secure Access MCS datasets should indicate on their ESRC Accredited Researcher application form the EUL dataset(s) that they also wish to access (selected from the MCS Series Access web page). MCS5: The fifth sweep took place when the children were aged around 11 and in their last year of primary school. Fieldwork started in January 2012 and finished in February 2013. Interviews were conducted with the main carer (typically the child’s parent) and their co-resident partner (typically the child’s other parent). The cohort children had measurements taken of their height, weight and body fat; participated in three cognitive assessments and completed a self-completion questionnaire. A survey of class teachers was also conducted but only in England and Wales, and consent was collected from the parent and children to contact the teacher.Latest edition informationFor the 6th edition (October 2022), a new date file mcs5_family_interview, has been added due to the family level data being split out from the parent-level data to make future merging with MCS8 onwards easier. Two data files (mcs5_parent_interview and mcs5_parent_cm_interview) have been updated to include variables that were missed from the previous edition due to a technical error (mainly from the income and employment module). There has been some further restructuring of datasets (parent responses moved out of mcs5_cm_interview and placed into mcs5_parent_cm_interview). Derived SDQ scores have been added to mcs5_cm_derived and a derived Kessler score has been added to mcs5_parent_derived. In addition, the number of cases in the mcs5_hhgrid data file have changed due to updates. Users are advised to check the Longitudinal Family File held under SN 8172 for the sample size. Main Topics: The files currently included in the MCS5 study comprise data from the main Parent Interview, the Household Grid, Child Measurement and Assessment and the Cohort Member self-completion questionnaire. The Parent Interview file comprises data from the Main Respondent, Partner Respondent and Proxy Respondent questionnaires, which covered household information; family context; education, schooling and childcare; child and family activities; parenting activities; child’s health; parent’s health; employment, income and education; housing and local area; and other matters. The Household Grid file comprises demographic data on households and additional derived variables. The Child Assessments and Measurement files include cognitive and physical measurements, including verbal similarities; a memory task (officially named the Spatial Working Memory task); a decision-making task (officially named the Cambridge Gambling task); height; weight; and waist circumference and body fat measurement. The Cohort Member paper self-completion was given to all participant children. The Teacher Survey data

These data were generated as part of an ESRC-funded PhD research project undertaken by Louise Couceiro at the University of Glasgow. The project sought to explore how eight children (aged 7-10) in the UK responded to and engaged with four biographical compendiums about women published between 2016 and 2020. Research was undertaken in two phases. Four participants engaged in the first phase and four engaged in the second. In each phase, participants took part in individual interviews and group reading sessions. The transcripts comprise online Zoom interviews with participants (n=7) and group reading sessions with participants from the first phase (n = 2). As part of the consent procedure, participants chose whether to grant permission for their de-identified data to be included in this archive.

The main British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) is conducted by the ESRC UK Longitudinal Studies Centre (ULSC), together with the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex. In addition to conducting the BHPS and disseminating it to the research community, ISER undertakes a programme of research based on panel data, using the BHPS and other national panels to monitor and measure social change.

The main objective of the BHPS is to further understanding of social and economic change at the individual and household level in the UK, and to identify, model and forecast such changes and their causes and consequences in relation to a range of socio-economic variables. It is conducted as a longitudinal study, where each adult member (aged 16 years and over) of a sampled household is interviewed annually. If individuals leave their original household, all adult members of their new households are interviewed. Children are also interviewed. For full details of the BHPS methodology, sampling, changes over time, and a complete set of documentation, see the main BHPS study, held at the UK Data Archive under SN 5151.

Understanding Society:
From Wave 19, the BHPS has been subsumed into a new longitudinal study called Understanding Society, or the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), conducted by ISER. The BHPS Wave 19 formed part of Understanding Society Wave 2 (January 2010 - March 2011). The BHPS fieldwork period therefore moved from September-April to January-March. This means that the gap between interviews 18 and 19 for the BHPS sample ranges between 16 and 30 months rather than the standard 12 months. From Wave 2, the BHPS sample has been a permanent part of the larger study and interviews are conducted annually again. BHPS sample members have an identifier within the Understanding Society datasets, allowing BHPS users to match BHPS Wave 1-18 data to Understanding Society. The main Understanding Society study, held under SN 6614 now includes harmonised BHPS data in addition to the main Understanding Society files. Further information is available on the Understanding Society web site.


This dataset contains Strategic Health Authority (SHA) geographic variables for each wave of the BHPS to date, and a household identification serial number for file matching to the main BHPS data. This dataset is subject to restrictive access conditions, different to those for the main BHPS: see Information box on the right or Access section below.